Simple Kale Salad
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If you’re looking to make a kale salad, this recipe is for you. My friends ask me to bring this to every gathering! I’ve crafted the best kale salad that’s a perfect balance of contrasting textures and flavors. Every ingredient plays a role in making this a hearty salad that’s loaded with delicious goodness. Wanna know how it’s done
We love our salads, and this is the best kale salad recipe! It’s fresh and satisfying, loaded with melding flavors and colorful veggies, and dressed with a zippy homemade dressing. The avocado coats everything in an almost cheese-like creaminess. And then there are the sweet, delicious caramelized onions. And the crispy, salty bacon. It’s the perfect addition to your potlucks, dinner spreads, or for meal-prepping lunches.
Why you’ll love this easy kale salad
Swoon-worthy and salad might not be two words you associate together, but they sure will be after you try this kale salad. Here are five reasons why you’ll LOVE it:
- Fully loaded: The best kale salad is loaded up with all the toppings! Crispy bacon, creamy Boursin cheese, and caramelized onions ensure each bite is perfect.
- Contrast: Salads are all about contrasts: of flavors and textures. This kale salad ticks all the boxes: crunch, creaminess, tang, freshness, and heartiness.
- Customizable: Whether you have goat’s cheese in the fridge instead of Boursin or you want a sprinkle of cranberries, this kale salad is adaptable.
- Quick and easy: Kale salad is easy to prepare and assemble, with a simple dressing, and it takes just a few minutes to put together!
Simple kale salad ingredients
An array of bright, colorful, and refreshing ingredients come together to make the best kale salad – all the different flavors and textures make every mouthful delicious! This is what you need:
- Kale: We use curly kale, but other varieties such like dinosaur kale or lacinato kale work well, too. Make sure to wash the kale leaves well and remove the hard inner stem.
- Boursin cheese: Goat cheese makes a nice substitute.
- Other ingredients: Onion, bacon, pecans, carrots, avocado, and cherry tomatoes.
- The dressing: white balsamic vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), honey, dijon mustard, shallot, garlic clove, olive oil, sea salt and pepper.
Best kale salad recipe variations
This kale salad recipe is versatile, so you can throw in your favorite ingredients or use up whatever is left in the fridge or pantry! Here are a few ways that you can make it your own:
- Dried fruit: Add some dried fruit. Dried cranberries taste especially good.
- Fresh fruit: Add some sweetness with apple or pear slices, or try mandarin segments.
- Crunch: The pecans are great, but other nuts work well too. Use toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, toasted walnuts. Or splurge and use candied hazelnuts!
- Cheese: Add some grated parmesan cheese for a sharper note, or swap out the Boursin for another creamy cheese. Feta cheese or blue cheese work well, or some grated sharp cheddar.
- Sweetness: Use maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing for an autumn flair.
- Citrus: Try adding a splash of fresh lemon juice for an extra bright dressing.
- Extra veg: Some red peppers sitting in your produce drawer? Half a cucumber waiting to get eaten? Cut up whatever is left in the fridge and throw it in!
- Croutons: Grab some store-bought or make some simple and delicious homemade croutons.
Prepping kale for the best kale salad
The best way to eat kale is lightly dressed so it retains its bite. Kale is one of our favorite greens as it’s hearty enough to prep ahead, so it’s always ready to go. Here’s how to do it:
- Remove the leaves from the tough inner stem. Save the kale stems to try our sauteed kale stems recipe!
- Put the kale in a bowl and cover it with cold water. Swish it around a few times and then drain the water. You may need to do this a few times, depending on how much dirt is hiding in the kale.
- Once the kale is clean, spin it dry using a salad spinner.
What to serve with this recipe for kale salad
Enjoy your kale salad as a lighter meal on its own, or serve it up as a side dish. While kale salad is delicious, it’s a perfect addition to your table to round out heartier mains! It’s one of those dishes that just goes with anything!
Serve it beside roasted meats, like lemon butter roasted chicken or salmon with lemon dill sauce. It works as a textural contrast to a bowl of steaming soup, like this curried pumpkin soup. Throw it on the table next to a butternut squash pizza, lamb burgers, or bbq crockpot beef ribs.
How to store leftovers
One of the best things about kale salad is that it stores well. Unlike green salad, which wilts as soon as it’s dressed, kale softens but still retains its structure. It’s a great salad to make for meal prep!
If you have any leftover kale salad, store it in an airtight container in your fridge for up to three days. If you’re meal prepping, we suggest keeping the avocado separate and adding it fresh to each serving.
Recipe FAQs
Does kale need to be massaged for a salad?
Massaging kale involves drizzling a little oil or salad dressing over it and using your hands to massage it until it softens and becomes slightly more tender. While you can massage kale, we find it’s much easier to toss the salad and let the dressing sit on the kale for 5 minutes before eating. The kale will be just as soft and easy to eat, and you won’t have to massage it.
How do you get the bitterness out of kale salad?
Kale is naturally slightly bitter. That’s why we find that the best kale salad dressings always have an element of sweetness, as it mellows out the bitterness. Another great dressing to try is our best kale salad dressing.
Best Kale Salad Recipe
Ingredients
The Dressing
- 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or sub apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small shallot (very finely minced)
- 1 small garlic clove (very finely minced)
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of sea salt and pepper
The Salad
- ¾ cup toasted pecans
- 4 strips of bacon
- 1 large onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 packed cups curly kale (washed and torn into bite-sized pieces)
- 2 tablespoons Boursin cheese (can sub goat cheese)
- 1 medium carrot (grated)
- 1 ripe avocado (chopped)
- 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl whisk the vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, shallot, and garlic. Whisk in the oil in a slow and steady stream. Whisking the oil in slowly will help it to emulsify and become creamy. Season the dressing lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper.3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 small shallot, 1 small garlic clove, ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, A pinch of sea salt and pepper
- Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and place them in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the bacon for 7-8 minutes, or until it is crispy but not burnt. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and, using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pan.4 strips of bacon
- Add the thinly sliced onions to the pan. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, or until they are quite soft and light brown.1 large onion
- Add the kale, Boursin cheese, pecans, crispy bacon, caramelized onions, carrot, avocado, and cherry tomatoes to a large bowl. Toss with the dressing and serve immediately.4 packed cups curly kale, 2 tablespoons Boursin cheese, 1 medium carrot, 1 ripe avocado, 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, ¾ cup toasted pecans
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Nutrition
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More kale salad recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of our salad recipes!
Eating this now. It turned out really well. I would give it a second name of “cheeseburger topping salad”. Seems to have everything an amazing burger would… aside from the beef and bread. And I definitely thought of cheeseburgers while eating it. yum. Thanks for introducing us to Boursin Cheese!
I love it! Might just have to serve it in a burger next time!!
Made this salad last weekend and it was just as the name proclaimed. It is definitely THE BEST Kale salad ever. Easy and ingredients I had on hand. There were no leftovers as my husband ate more than half the bowl! I have already made it again and look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thanks for posting so many delicious looking ones to choose from!
That makes me so happy to hear!!
Yaaaa! So happy you agree!
This was very delicious! I tried it over the weekend and it was a hit! Thank you for sharing this great salad recipe!
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!!
i made it last night and its super deli… I will definitely make this again and again.
I’m so happy you liked it as much as I do!
Mmmmm I’m so hungry all of a sudden. I’m probably the only pregnant woman who’s craving salad 24/7. Beautiful food!
Haha I totally get you girl! When I was pregnant all I wanted was fruit and veggies. I spent a whole month eating mandarin oranges like nobody’s business lol. Your body knows what it needs!
WOW, This is an amazing recipe! Kale salads are normally a miss for me but figured I’d try this one out because I love all of your recipes and I was not disappointed. Only thing we did differently was throwing a chicken breast on it. Will be making again!
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray for a winning kale salad!!
Gosh this baby looks a m a z I n g!!! We’re right in the middle of a salad obsession at the moment and I can’t wait to try this. I’m not sure I’ll be able to find Boursin cheese in NZ – is it similar to feta? Ricotta? Thanks x
I’m so the same this time of year! It’s all about salads! Boursin has a texture that is similar to whipped goat cheese and is lightly flavored with herbs. Shaved parmesan would be quite different but also really delicious in this recipe. 🙂
This looks phenomenal! I love any salad based on kale. And that dressing sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you so much!!!
THE BEST SALAD EVER!!
I’m so happy to hear you think so, too!
I made this salad last night and it was delicious! I have always massgee the dressing into the kale leaves when making kale salads. I used half the dressing and massaged it into the kale, then put all other ingredients, accept avocado on top and covered it in the fridge for about 3 hours. At serving time, I added the avocado and the remaining dressing and tossed it all together. It was fantastic and looks so nice with the colourful veggies.
Hi Dani,
Thank you so much for your comment! Another reader had asked if the salad could be made ahead of time. I had expected that it could, but it is so great to know for sure. Thank you!
Could this be made a day or two ahead, without the avocado, which could then be added just before serving?
Hi Sadie,
You can definitely make all the components a few days ahead of time but I wouldn’t toss it together until you’re ready to eat it. I have eaten this as leftovers a few days after and it’s ok but not awesome. I would recommend making the dressing, toasting the nuts, caramelizing the onions and even cleaning the kale in advance to save you time the day of.
Hope that helps!
Thank’s, Fa! It really is my favourite salad. 🙂
Delicious with lots of different textures. I will make this again.
So happy to hear you enjoyed this!
Kristen,
I finally made this salad last night and it is amazing. It surely is the best kale salad I ever had! Thank you.
This looks and sounds delicious! I will definitely try this. I have made many ‘best’ kale salads, only to be disappointed.
I hope you love it as much as I do. Let me know what you think once you’ve made it. I’d love to hear your feedback!